Hosni Mubarak

September 1, 2010, during Middle East negotiations in the Oval Office.

Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak simplifed to Hosni Mubarak (May 4, 1928 – February 25, 2020) was an Egyptian military officer and politician who served as president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. He was the fourth president of Egypt and assumed office in October 1981 following the assassination of Anwar Sadat. During his nearly thirty years in power, Mubarak maintained Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, established under his predecessor following the Camp David Accords. His presidency ended after mass protests in January and February 2011. Mubarak died at the age of 91 on February 25, 2020.

Mubarak's government maintained a close relationship with the United States and continued Egypt's diplomatic relationship with Israel. His supporters emphasized regional stability and the preservation of the peace treaty, while critics challenged his government's restrictions on political opposition and its record on civil liberties.

A contemporary report by WorldNetDaily alleged that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) had lobbied the U.S. State Department over Mubarak's policies toward the Muslim Brotherhood. The report cited correspondence concerning the Egyptian government's restrictions on the Brotherhood and drew on allegations presented in the book Muslim Mafia.

Early life and presidency

Mubarak was born on May 4, 1928, in the village of Kafr el-Meselha in Egypt's Monufia Governorate. He received military training before joining the Egyptian Air Force, where he served as a pilot and instructor. He subsequently rose through the military hierarchy, becoming commander of the air force in 1972. In 1975, Sadat appointed him vice president of Egypt.

After Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981, Mubarak succeeded him as president. He continued Egypt's peace treaty with Israel and sought to restore Egypt's standing in the Arab League after the diplomatic estrangement that followed the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement.

Mubarak's government also maintained close relations with successive American administrations. However, political power remained concentrated in the presidency and the ruling National Democratic Party. The government repeatedly extended a state of emergency, and opposition movements criticized restrictions on political activity and the conduct of elections.

2011 Protests

On January 25, 2011, demonstrations began against Mubarak's government. The protests reflected widespread dissatisfaction with political repression, police abuses, corruption, sale of public assets and economic conditions. The demonstrations expanded over the following eighteen days and are recognised as initiating the wider Arab Spring and are sometimes refered to as the Egyptian chapter of the Arab Spring.

The possible consequences of Mubarak's removal became a major concern for his supporters and for conservative commentators in the United States. They warned that the fall of his government could strengthen Islamist movements, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, and alter Egypt's relationship with Israel and the United States.

Some liberal commentators regarded Mohamed ElBaradei, a prominent opposition figure, as a moderate who could help lead a political transition. But many experts fear that the rebellion aims to install Sharia law and a government opposed to Israel and the United States. Although the Brotherhood's terrorist military wing, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, took part in the protests, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave speeches supporting the protests.

A February 2011 report by WorldNetDaily described claims by Egyptian and Israeli security officials that al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an Islamist group associated with past terrorist attacks, was reorganizing amid the political upheaval. The report characterized the group as a terrorist organization and described it as a militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. It also quoted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussing the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood in political dialogue and the American government's support for an orderly transition toward free and fair elections.

The ICG, which also supports dialogue with the terrorist organization Hamas, in 2008 urged Mubarak to allow the radicals in the Muslim Brotherhood to establish a political party. Clearly, it is likely that Soros' goal is to legitimize radical Islam and make it the main political force in the Middle East, destabilizing the region and removing Western influence.

On February 10, 2011, the protesters succeeded in toppling Mubarak. As a result, Egypt was ruled for two years by the Muslim Brotherhood under the leadership of Mohammed Morsi, until he was overthrown in 2013.

George Soros, the International Crisis Group and the Obama administration

The role of foreign political organizations and the Obama administration in the events surrounding Mubarak's fall became a subject of controversy with frequent allegations such as: George Soros' International Crisis Group and Barack Obama may have had a hand in the beginning of the protests. Obama's unwillingness to support a U.S. ally, the Mubarak's government, may show that in private Obama supports the radical Islamist protestors. Again, Obama and Soros may even be attempting to install pro-Iran Muslim regimes in the Middle East and destabilize Israel, "[ceding] the power of the Judaeo-Christian west to Islamic tyrants."

In February 2011, WorldNetDaily published a report examining the work of the International Crisis Group (ICG), an organization whose executive committee included George Soros. The report focused on an ICG publication issued in June 2008, which recommended that Mubarak's government permit greater participation by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egyptian political life, including consideration of a legal political party with a religious reference.

The underlying ICG report, Egypt's Muslim Brothers: Confrontation or Integration?, argued that excluding the Brotherhood from formal politics risked increasing political tensions. It recommended steps toward political integration while also identifying concerns about the Brotherhood's positions on women, religious minorities and democratic government.

Conservative critics regarded the ICG's recommendations, together with the Obama administration's support for a political transition, as grounds for concern that the removal of Mubarak could strengthen Islamist political movements. They also questioned whether the administration had adequately considered the consequences for Egypt's relationship with Israel and American interests in the Middle East.

Conservative commentator Michael Savage advanced a more sweeping interpretation, arguing that Obama and Soros might be helping Islamist forces gain power in the region. Savage warned that American policy risked "ceding the power of the Judaeo-Christian west to Islamic tyrants." His commentary expressed concern that the Egyptian uprising could lead to greater Islamist influence and a deterioration in regional security.

These arguments formed part of the contemporary conservative criticism of American policy toward the uprising. The cited ICG report documents the organization's recommendations concerning the Muslim Brotherhood; the allegations about the motives of Obama and Soros were interpretations advanced by critics of their policies.

Fall from power and aftermath

On February 11, 2011, after eighteen days of mass protests, Mubarak resigned as president and transferred authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. His resignation ended nearly three decades of rule.

In 2012, Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate, won Egypt's presidential election and took office in June. His presidency ended in July 2013, when the Egyptian military removed him from power following further mass demonstrations. The period after Mubarak's resignation thus saw both a brief presidency associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and renewed military intervention in Egyptian politics.

See also

• Arab Spring
• 2011 Egyptian revolution
• Anwar Sadat
• Camp David Accords
• Egypt-Israel peace treaty
• Muslim Brotherhood
• Mohamed Morsi